Diversity and Inclusion Statement

Scholar Commons, a service of the University of South Florida (USF) Libraries, embraces USF’s values of cultural and ethnic diversity and global understanding. USF is committed to an academic community of free inquiry not limited by race, ethnicity, veteran status, marital status, socioeconomic level, national origin, religious belief, physical ability, sexual orientation, age, class, political ideology, or gender identity and expression. It recognizes the benefits of uniqueness, similarities, and differences. As stated in the USF Diversity Statement, USF seeks to:

Sustain diversity as a dynamic, ongoing process that demonstrates appreciation for all individuals, including their differences.

Promote institutional policies, practices, and initiatives that support this process.

Scholar Commons strives to contribute to this mission by promoting inclusivity through supporting open access; actively encouraging greater representation across cultures, backgrounds, and viewpoints; and fostering transparency and openness throughout the publishing cycle.

As a library publishing program, Scholar Commons is dedicated to providing barrier- and cost-free access to scholarly works from the USF community. Scholar Commons offers open access to a wide variety of information, including journals, textbooks, electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs), and faculty publications as well as academically significant grey literature and other materials not published via traditional channels.

To further our goals of diversity and inclusivity, we recommend that any new or existing open-access publication hosted by Scholar Commons consider the following:

Write a diversity and inclusion statement for the publication.

Encourage participation of people from underrepresented groups as authors, reviewers, and editors.

Include content from multidisciplinary scholars that fits publication scope.

Create an editorial board that reflects the diversity of a global academic community.

Maintain a clear and open process for article review and contribution.